A hiker sent a concerning text to his boyfriend saying he was scared just before he went missing on the mountain of Ben Lomond in Queenstown, New Zealand.

A search and rescue team including one helicopter was deployed to help find Robert Galdamez, 25, of Melbourne, Australia, on Tuesday.

He arrived in the resort with a friend on Monday and has now been missing for more than one day.

Facebook

Robert's boyfriend, Tim Heritage, told the Otago Daily Times they were texting each other when he suddenly stopped. He said,

He did say he was getting scared and I kept asking him, "Are you alright, are you alright?" and he didn't respond back to my messages.
Later on I checked and it had been an hour. He's not a person to just not reply back.

Messages before that indicated Robert wasn't too sure where he was and he wasn't feeling comfortable with the situation.

The last communication Tim had with Robert was at around 6 pm on Tuesday.

Facebook

Tim contacted police two hours later.

Concern has grown around his safety after it emerged Robert suffers from epilepsy.

Tim said he was told Robert and his friend had mapped out a hike around Ben Lomond. However, 30 minutes into the walk his friend turned back.

Robert continued alone.

Pseudopanax

Tim continued,

My fear is he's up there alone. He's not full-blown, has fits, seizures every month or so. But he has collapsed before and that's what I worry about.

Facebook

Senior constable Terry Wood said,

[He] certainly wasn't prepared to go out for the evening. He has no food and very little water.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the police.

Robert was last seen at 3:10 pm on Tuesday at the top of the Skyline gondola. He was wearing a dark green North Face jacket, black leggings and blue Nike shoes.